October 28, 2012 by CallisonRTKL

Art in the Streets

The 2008 Great Recession did not do great things for our cities’ streetscapes. Vacant storefronts, the bane of pedestrian experience, became more and more evident. Leases were not renewed; retailers suffered; restaurants closed. The dreaded “dark” storefronts multiplied.

But all hope is not lost. Necessity is the mother of invention, and in Chicago, that invention comes in the form of art. The Chicago Loop Alliance (a member-based business organization) has become a champion for these dark storefronts by “promoting and uniting Loop businesses and organizations to support one another in creating a vibrant, flourishing Loop where people live, work, and play”.

That sounds a bit stiff, but their ideas are anything but. Out of the despair of 2008, the Chicago Loop Alliance created “Pop-Up Art Loop”, a program that transforms vacant Loop storefronts into cultural hotspots. Forging links between the real estate community and the arts community, the CLA provides both established and emerging artists with temporary galleries in vacant ground-level space.

Landlords have been willing participants, and so have artists—and not just in marginal Loop locations, either. To date, there have been 49 exhibitions in 16 different venues. Recently, even the historic and acclaimed Inland Steel building hosted a Pop- Up Loop gallery devoted to rock concert posters, and opened on a Thursday night with a DJ, a bar, and gallery hoppers of every stripe, age, demographic, and ethnicity.

As the bad old days of 2008 fade from memory, street-level Loop vacancies are diminishing, too, let’s hope forever. But necessity being the mother of invention, a great urban planning idea was born of this recession in Chicago that could have applications to other cities. Long live Pop-Up Art Loop.

Images (top to bottom): Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau; Westwood College

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CallisonRTKL

For more than five decades, Callison and RTKL have created some of the world’s most memorable and successful environments for developers, retailers, investors, institutions and public entities. In 2015, our two practices came together under the Arcadis umbrella, expanding our sphere of influence and the depth and breadth of our resources. Our team is comprised of nearly 2,000 creative, innovative professionals throughout the world who are committed to advancing our client’s businesses and enhancing quality of life.